


There is Only One Way to Comfort a Widow

by Qurinas



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: New Jedi Order Era - Various
Genre: Angst, F/F, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-05-16
Updated: 2004-05-16
Packaged: 2017-10-18 11:17:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/188363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Qurinas/pseuds/Qurinas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the mission to Myrkyr, Jaina Solo suffers with her own demons. As well, she sees Tahiri struggling with her own. Seeing her brother's friend in need of comfort, she decides to deliver some.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. There is only one way...

Shadowy tendrils of Dark Force wisping around her, Jedi Knight Jaina Solo stood in the woods far away from the Hapan Royal Palace and the party she had disappeared from hours earlier. She was now dressed in long flowing Jedi robes of black, nearly identical in style those Kyp Durron wore. Her elaborate gown had been discarded back at the Palace when Kyp had drawn her from the party to attend the funeral services for her brother Anakin.

The services now concluded, she had just finished her rather terse and strained farewell to her childhood friend, and former crush, Zekk. Her mental state had been so precarious that even the man who wished to be her new Master, Kyp Durron, had fled the scene in a rush.

Luke Skywalker and is wife Mara were a few meters away quietly talking to some of the other Jedi Masters. Though Jaina was too upset and withdrawn to realize it, Mara Jade Skywalker was aware that her apprentice was troubled and hurt. Although some might question the wisdom of her not going to Jaina to offer counsel or comfort, Mara would consider that inappropriate. When Luke and Kyp had teetered along the edge of the Dark Side, experience had taught her that no words anyone could have spoken would have had any affect. The only assistance anyone could offer was being there, supporting the person as they made their choice - stand or fall. After that choice was made, Mara would keep her own council on what would be required to deal with her student.

Glancing over to the smoldering ashes of the funeral pyre, Jaina saw three people whose level of pain was as great or greater than her own. Her parents, Han and Leia Solo, stood with Jedi Tahiri Veila, a fellow student at Master Skywalker’s Jedi Academy and a good friend of Anakin’s. A friend? Jaina pondered. I think she was quickly becoming much more than that.

To Jaina, Tahiri looked like a fragile flower who would disintegrate in the wind without the support of her guardians. Dressed in Jedi robes as well, she also wore a pair of soft leather boots, quite uncommon for the girl from Tatooine. Her face still bore the thin white scars inflicted by the Yuuzhan Vong during her captivity. Her soft blonde curls hung over her ears and swayed gently in the breeze.

As Jaina studied Tahiri, a tear began to well up in her eye. Looking away, she chided herself for such a display of weakness and used her anger to burn away the weak emotions. Shaking her head, Jaina turned her attention back to Tahiri and her parents. It must be very hard on her, Jaina thought. To have your first crush, your best friend, then to have him… She didn’t let herself finish the thought. She knew if she had, more “weakness” might exhibit itself in the form of tears.

Moving a little further away, Jaina continued to observe them. Though she could not hear their words, Jaina could see that even in the midst of their own grief, her parents were trying desperately to comfort the poor girl. Jaina shook her head, thinking just how futile that was. There's no way they can comfort her, Jaina thought. Well, at least not in the way she needs. Jaina smirked maliciously as a saying she had heard long ago flashed into her mind. There is only one way to comfort a widow.

A short time later, Tahiri appeared to convince Han and Leia that she needed some time alone and could do so without any harm. Turning away from Anakin’s parents, Tahiri slowly wandered into the woods. Jaina caught a glimpse of their worried stares before they too turned to leave.

Being as quiet as possible, Jaina began to follow Tahiri as she wandered. Although Jedi training had made Jaina quite adept at the task, it appeared that her talents were wasted for Tahiri seemed so distracted that a herd of wild Gundarks could have been stampeding up behind her and she would have failed to notice.

As Jaina followed, she became enthralled with the way Tahiri moved. How her hips slowly swung as she stepped. How her loose hair waved in the breeze. And, when Tahiri stopped and sat upon a rock, how slim and toned her legs were as the girl from Tatooine kicked off her boots to walk in her bare feet.

As she stared, Jaina’s emotions turned wanton and lustful. No longer were her feelings regarding Tahiri’s beauty that of innocent appreciation that Jaina had been taught was acceptable. The wicked thoughts she entertained Jaina had only experienced before in the darkest of nights, alone in her bed, fantasizing about the handsome hero who would sweep her off her feet and the resulting debauchery they would partake in away from prying eyes.

The fact that these feelings and desires had shifted from a handsome man to a frail and beautiful girl, did not surprise Jaina as much as one might have expected. Since the death of her younger brother her feelings and thoughts on many matters had changed, some very radically. This one she took in stride, enjoying the feeling of her panties growing damp between her thighs at the thought of Tahiri Veila.

Standing, the blonde Jedi began to wander again. Her pace was agonizingly slow, seeming to match her mental state. She paused every so often to feel the earth beneath her feet, seeming to savor the sensation. But Jaina saw that even as she stepped on branches or rocks, her expression did not change. In her grief inspired, darkened state Jaina decided that if she had anything to do with it, Tahiri would at least feel something.

After walking for almost an hour, Tahiri came to the edge of a small lake. She slumped down and drew her legs up so her chin rested on her knees while Jaina crouched behind a small thicket of bushes to keep watching.

Softly at first, then with increasing intensity, Tahiri began to weep. Resting her head on her forearms, tears began to soak her sleeve. As Jaina watched in silence, thoughts swirled frantically through her head until suddenly an idea blossomed in the dark maelstrom of her psyche.

Calling the Force to her, Jaina felt the dark currents that surrounded her of late emerge from dormancy to answer her summons. Her body was soon surrounded in a pale blue aura that cast her surroundings in an eerie light.

Tahiri’s tears instantly ceased as she raised her head, her eyes were wide in shock. Calling on the energy that surrounded her, Jaina thrust brutally into Tahiri’s mind, easily bypassing her grief-weakened defenses to touch her perceptions.

Blinking rapidly for a moment, Tahiri sprung to her feet. “Anakin?” she asked, her voice weak and tentative. Jaina nodded slowly, her eyes remaining fixed on Tahiri’s. “Ho…how?” she stammered.

Striding silently forward, Jaina moved with slow and deliberate steps. She did her best to mimic the affectionate and lopsided grin Anakin normally wore. Tahiri gasped, obviously Jaina’s rendition was accurate enough, for the young blonde ran forward and wrapped her arms desperately around her shoulders. “You came back!” she exclaimed, burying her face against Jaina’s shoulder. “I knew you would never break your promise.”

Break your promise? Jaina asked herself, the comment making no sense to her. Unable to resist the temptation, she again reached past Tahiri’s now nonexistent mental barriers and sifted through her thoughts until she came upon the one that answered her question.

As the memory filled her conscious mind, Jaina was transported back to the Yuuzhan Vong Worldship orbiting Myrkr. She could immediately tell she was looking through Tahiri’s eyes. Kneeling across from her was Anakin, the strain of his wounds evident on his face. Jaina could feel Tahiri’s yearning to taste his lips as her moved in to kiss her.

“No,” Jaina heard Tahiri say. “You will need to come back to me for that.” Anakin stopped and gave her a warm soft smile before he turned his back and began to walk away. Jaina knew he was walking to his death and immediately broke contact with Tahiri’s memories having no desire to see her brother die again, especially with the added pain of his lover’s perceptions added to it.

Reinforcing the illusion she cast about her, Jaina spoke, her voice sounding no different to her. But, to Anakin’s love, the voice sounded as his. “I needed to come back to you, Tahiri. I needed for you to know how much I love you.”

Pulling her face from Jaina’s shoulder, she stared up lovingly. “I knew you would. I never doubted it for a second.” A fresh tear rolled down her cheek. “I miss you so much.” Her voice wavered in obvious torment. “I miss you,” Tahiri croaked.

Calling upon her anger and great thirst to right this wrong, Jaina quashed the feelings rending her heart. Her dark emotions swept away everything but her lust, which she disguised as her need to comfort the blonde Jedi. Gently, she reached up to caress Tahiri’s cheek. Leaning closer, Jaina pursed her lips and stopped mere inches from touching them to the slightly shorter girl's.

“I know, and I am sorry I left you,” Jaina began softly. “But, I need to keep my promise.” Tahiri moved forward with surety and pressed her lips to Jaina’s.

Tahiri’s lips immediately slackened in submission as she let Jaina take control of the kiss. The kiss was soft and sweet at first, but then Jaina pushed her tongue past Tahiri’s lips to explore her mouth. As Jaina moved her tongue in swift darting strokes, the heat and passion of their kiss built.

Tahiri’s arms pulled firmly against Jaina’s back in desperate need to be nearer to the image Jaina had created, that of her true love visiting her by the will of the Force. She seemed unaware that Jaina’s embrace was different in style and intent. Jaina's hands wandered lightly over the robe covering her partner’s shoulders and arms. Taking hold of the shoulder-hem, she slid the Jedi robes from Tahiri’s shoulders allowing it to drop and pool upon the ground.

Pulling back reluctantly, Tahiri lovingly stared into the deep brown eyes before her. The blonde Jedi licked her lips nervously as she held her gaze. Jaina could tell there were questions bubbling in Tahiri’s mind. Though Tuskan Raiders had raised the girl from Tatooine, Jaina was sure she would be able to speak the universal language.

Deciding to test her theory, the brunette Jedi reached down and took Tahiri by the hand and guided her to an area of soft grass by the water’s edge. Sliding down to sit, Jaina pulled the younger blonde down to sit beside her. Again, she pushed aside a stray lock of blonde hair and kissed Tahiri softly. Jaina savored the taste of her lips as she planted a series of gentle kisses upon them.

Allowing herself to be directed, Tahiri yielded to every caress. Instead of wrapping her arms around Jaina, she placed her hands firmly on Jaina’s shoulders and gripped tightly, as if afraid the figure before her would slip away, back into death.

Jaina gently ran her fingers over the swell of Tahiri’s breasts, drawing a gasp from her. Although tensing at the sensation, Tahiri didn’t pull away and an instant later actually leaned into the caress. Using her hands to guide her down, Jaina continued their passionate kiss. Once Tahiri was lying firmly against the ground, the brunette pulled at the edges of the blonde’s tunic and pulled it from her body, leaving her in only a thin tank top.

Moving her lips from Tahiri’s, Jaina darted down to press her lips to the nipple poking up from beneath the shirt. Tahiri moaned softly as Jaina sucked hungrily and soon the thin material was hot and wet. Reaching down Jaina took hold of the bottom of the tank top and in a smooth motion whipped it over Tahiri’s head.

Sliding out of the way only long enough to clear the moving shirt, Jaina then ducked back to take the raised flesh between her lips again. Kissing and nibbling at her nipples, the Anakin’s sister coaxed a series of breathy moans from the girl beneath her.

As Jaina teased, she heard Tahiri mutter words so softly she could not make them out. With a brutal force and dark purpose, the niece of Luke Skywalker thrust into Tahiri’s mind to steal what she would not say aloud. The instant she did, sadness and anguish threatened to overwhelm her.

The emotion allowed her illusion to waver for a moment and Tahiri almost saw through the web Jaina was spinning before her eyes. The blonde Jedi raised her head with a questioning look as a furious rage rose up in Jaina. The Dark Side whirled about, reawakened by a combination of Jaina’s rage and her fear of discovery. Her hand shot up and gripped firmly around Tahiri’s neck, pushing the younger girl her back to the ground more roughly than she intended. The Dark Side surged through her as she again thrust her consciousness into the blonde Jedi’s mind. Tahiri’s body slackened as whatever doubts her moment of clarity brought to her mind were swept away under the dark tide of Jaina’s assault.

As the body under her settled, Jaina relaxed her grasp and ran her hand firmly over Tahiri’s chest, stroking the soft flesh of her breast. The blonde moaned deep in her throat at the sensation. Urged on by her obvious arousal, the Dark Jedi returned her mouth to the pink nipple before her. After a few licks and kisses, Jaina began to trail her lips down Tahiri’s abdomen. She stopped as she encountered the waistband of Tahiri’s breaches. Forcefully, she grabbed a handful of the fabric at Tahiri’s hips and pulled them down, making sure to hook her panties in her fingers as well. Tahiri lifted her hips, allowing the owner of the deep soulful brown eyes to pull them down and, a moment later the younger girl was completely naked.

Continuing lower, Jaina’s nose brushed the thin patch of straw-colored curls below Tahiri’s bellybutton, drawing a sharp gasp. A sinister grin came to Jaina’s lips an instant before she pressed them firmly against the swollen bump below. She drew Tahiri’s clitoris between her lips and sucked firmly.

A shiver ran through Tahiri as Jaina shifted to lie between her spread legs. Teasingly, the brunette ran her tongue lightly from the top of the soft petals before her to the bottom. She repeated the stroke, urging the flower to open, each time Tahiri moaned impatiently. Sensing her urgency, Jaina slowed her pace. Each movement was slower and softer than the last causing the younger girl to whimper. The agonizing teasing went on for several minutes.

“Please,” Tahiri moaned.

“What do you want?” Jaina breathed in between teasing licks.

Tahiri paused, seeming to try and gather her wits. “I want you to stop teasing and…” she trailed off, licking her lips. Obviously, she was not comfortable enough to ask for what she wanted. Likely, Tahiri assumed Anakin wouldn’t make her ask if it made her uncomfortable. Fearing the possibility that her illusion might not stand up to that degree of scrutiny, Jaina considered her course.

Planting her lips firmly against Tahiri’s soft folds, Jaina kissed allowing her tongue to snake out. Relentlessly, the brunette licked and sucked causing Tahiri to claw at the ground and moan and whimper loudly. Her cries of passion echoed over the water and through the glade. Jaina’s tongue ran over Tahiri’s sex while her nails gently traced lines over Tahiri’s stomach and breasts.

Shifting to rest more comfortably on her stomach, Jaina eased her free hand beneath the waistband of her pants. Reaching beneath her own panties, Jaina gently traced her finger between her folds, enjoying the sensation of the wetness surrounding her fingers as well as the tingle of her own caress. Slowly at first, but building in speed, she ran her finger up and down not only tracing along her entrance, but also rubbing the swell of her clitoris. Jaina’s breath quickened, the soft huffs adding to the sensations she gave Tahiri.

After so much teasing, it was not long before the young blonde was writhing and her moans took on a rhythm. Tahiri’s stomach fluttered as she held her breath a moment before her orgasm crashed over her.

Jaina slowed the movements of her tongue before latching onto Tahiri’s clitoris and sucking gently. At the same time, she ran her finger vigorously over her own clitoris and soon she felt her own orgasm building.  
Urging the feeling on with her own hand, soon Jaina cried out in pleasure against Tahiri’s mound as her climax surged through her.

When their breathing had slowed and a deep sigh escaped Tahiri’s lips, Jaina pulled away and moved to lie on top of the young blonde. Slowly and passionately, they began to kiss savoring each other’s lips and enjoying the sweet caresses of their tongues. Rocking together as they kissed, Tahiri would whimper each time Jaina’s leg shifted and swept over her sensitive folds. Breaking the kiss, she looked into the eldest Solo’s eyes.

“I want you inside me,” Tahiri breathed. “I want to be with you. To join with you.”

Jaina’s heart leapt in her throat. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that she wasn’t properly equipped to honor Tahiri’s request. Frantically, her mind spun, seeking a solution. She briefly looked away from the blue eyes before her and something caught her attention. She saw the long, thin, smooth cylinder of her lightsaber hilt hanging from her discarded belt. Calling the Force to her, she summoned the lightsaber to her hand with such strength that it snapped the metal clip leaving the belt behind. Moving to kneel between Tahiri’s legs, Jaina used her knees to guide Ikrit’s former apprentice to ease her legs further apart.

Moving her hand down, Jaina pressed the pommel of the saber just below her bellybutton and guided the tip to Tahiri’s waiting entrance. Again using the Force, she allowed the heat of her body to radiate from her hand quickly bringing to cool metal to equal the heat of her flesh. Slowly, Jaina eased her hips forward pressing against Tahiri’s tight folds.

Tahiri immediately gasped and her fingers clawed at the ground beneath her. Jaina stopped, knowing how strange it was to welcome another into oneself for the first time and how hard it was to relax enough to make it less painful.

Leaning down, Jaina began to whisper hoarsely in her lover’s ear. “I’ve wanted this for so long,” she began, trying her best to use the same inflection Anakin would. “I want to feel you around me, feel myself inside you.”

Tahiri sighed as she heard the words and closed her eyes. Her legs widened even a little further as Jaina continued whispering the words she knew Tahiri would want to hear from her dead lover. Feeling less resistance against her, Jaina again pressed forward. She shifted her hips back and forward again, in very short motions trying to ease inside as she rested her weight on one hand while the other held the lightsaber hilt in place.

For several minutes Jaina repeated the motion drawing desperate gasps from Anakin’s love. Slowly, she pushed further in as Tahiri’s eyes squeezed shut. Tahiri grimaced as the shaft made it’s way into her until the black grip nestled against her lips and a single tear rolled from the corner of Tahiri’s closed eye. Jaina looked down to see Tahiri stretched around the shaft of her lightsaber.

Jaina eased her saber out of Tahiri a bit then gently pushed it back inside. She continued these slight movements as Tahiri’s breath hissed between her clenched teeth. Slowly Jaina leaned back on her knees and took the hand she had been leaning on and reached down to gently trace a finger over the puffy lips of Tahiri’s sex. Feeling a small rivulet of moisture running from her crease, Jaina mopped some of it up with the tip of her finger. Pulling her finger up to look at it, she saw it glistened red in the moonlight.

A cruel smirk came to Jaina’s lips as she stared at her finger. Blood of innocence, Jaina thought to herself before she quickly corrected. Lost innocence. Planting a kiss to her fingertip, Jaina savored the coppery taste of Tahiri’s blood as she ran her tongue over her moist lips as she lowered her hand.

Tahiri grimaced again as Jaina pressed her hips slowly but firmly forward, parting Tahiri even wider as she pushed the hilt of her lightsaber deeper. A whimper emerged from the blonde Jedi a moment before her breath rushed out. A shudder ran through her entire body as Jaina quickened the pace of her thrusts.

With each stroke, Tahiri let out a short breathy gasp as she grew more accustomed to the intruder and the unexpected stirrings it caused deep within her. Jaina ran her other hand in feathery touches over the squirming girl beneath her as she continued to pump into her. Each push of the Jedi's weapon now caused a violent shudder from Tahiri and after a few more thrusts she arched her back. A high-pitched moan escaped Tahiri as she climaxed and spasmed around the lightsaber’s hilt.

Jaina slowed the pace of her thrusts until she was barely moving. Taking Tahiri by the shoulder, she rolled until Tahiri was on top of her. With her eyes closed, Tahiri leaned down so her breasts pressed to Jaina’s and began to kiss her with loving softness. The movement of Tahiri's tongue and lips were slow and careful but with a hunger that she barely kept submerged. With one hand still holding her lightsaber for  
Tahiri, Jaina reached down with her other hand to run her finger over her swollen clitoris.

Feeling Tahiri’s curls tickling her forehead, Jaina kissed her back as she began to trace her finger over and around her sex. Firmly she moved to press her finger to her clitoris allowing the very tip to rest between her folds. Beginning slowly, she began to move her finger. As her speed increased, she quickly felt her stomach beginning to flutter and her toes curl. As Tahiri latched onto her ear, Jaina moaned loudly into Tahiri’s shoulder as she came.

Still moving slowly up and down on the lightsaber, Tahiri broke the kiss and sat up to look down into Jaina’s eyes as she continued to stroke herself slowly down from her climax. Seemingly with much regret, Tahiri leaned down to kiss her once more before sliding off of her and moved to lie beside her, the improvised penis slipping from her body. Tahiri then moved to wrap her arms around Jaina and snuggled herself against her.

“I love you,” Tahiri whispered before kissing her cheek gently.

Jaina turned to press her lips to Tahiri’s. Breaking away, she whispered, “I love you too. I love you so much, I came back.” Jaina grimaced at the ridiculous sentimentality, but a part of her couldn’t even fathom the idea of not responding to Tahiri’s admission.

Tahiri smiled weakly as a tear rolled down her cheek and a strangled sob escaped her. “I don’t want you to leave me again. You can’t leave me again.” She buried her face into the crook of Jaina’s neck and began to sob.

At first, Jaina felt her heart rising in her throat and her eyes began to glaze over. Tahiri’s words had cut her in their desperate anguish. Her words carried Jaina back to a place she cared not to be; a place of emotional agony, the place where she had buried the pain of her little brother’s death.

Tears welled up in her eyes as Tahiri sobbed against her. She could feel her own emotions about to overwhelm her. I will not allow that to happen, she thought with a sneer as a tendril of darkness ran through her. Furious rage filled her at what had almost happened. She was powerful and strong with the Dark Side. I will not be weak and fragile. The rage simmering within her boiled away her sorrow and anguish. She sat up abruptly, causing Tahiri to gasp as she slid from her shoulder.

“No!” Tahiri cried. “You can’t!”

“I must,” Jaina answered tersely trying to hide her feelings. She had succeeded in weaving her illusion this entire time; she wouldn’t allow it to fail now. “I can not stay here. I cannot be with you. This is not my destiny.”

Tahiri stood up, her still naked body bathed in the pale light of the moon above. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she did not look away.

“I love you, Tahiri,” Jaina said, careful to maintain the illusion of Anakin’s apparition. “And I will miss you.”

Tahiri let out a last wail as Jaina reached toward her with an open hand. “Good bye.” Calling the Force, Jaina lashed out with all her mental strength. She entered Tahiri’s mind and drove the consciousness from her. With a last wracking sob, Tahiri fell back to lie still on the ground, her last tears dampening the earth below her.

Jaina Solo dared not glance at the still girl again, for fear of what thoughts it might inspire. She quickly donned her robes and picked up her lightsaber. She smiled as she stared at the weapon before tucking it into her belt, having snapped the clip. She knew that even though her Force command was strong, it was unlikely to keep Tahiri unconscious for long.

Once she was dressed, she picked up Tahiri’s robe and gently laid it over her before turning to walk briskly away. It was not long before she was back at the Royal House of Hapes and had made her way back to the guest suite she had been given by Queen Mother Ta’a Chume. Her mind was numb as she quickly undressed and climbed into bed.

Jaina tried her best to keep her mind blank as she allowed her body to drift off to sleep.


	2. ...to comfort a widow.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touched by the Dark Side, Jaina sees things she never wished to see.

Queen Mother Jaina Solo stood before her throne within the Hapan Palace. She now ruled over the entire Hapan Consortium since her marriage to Prince Isolder a few years previous. The War with the Yuuhzan Vong still raged on, but with the new Queen Mother’s brilliant assaults and treacherous strategies, they were finally on the edge of victory.

Before Jaina, down on all fours, was a pathetic sight. An older woman in a beautiful gown lay before Jaina pleading for her life. “Please, don’t do this,” she begged. “I’m the one who made it so you could rule here. I’ve always supported you.”

“Is that so?” Jaina asked incredulously. “If that were so, why would this be necessary?” Jaina punctuated her question with an arc of sinister blue lighting that emerged from her outstretched hand. The woman writhed in agony. “Well, Ta’a Chume?” When the former Queen Mother did not answer, Jaina spoke again. “I know for a fact, as the Force has shown me, you never intended anything good to come of me. You planned to use me for your own purposes until the Yuuzhan Vong had been defeated and then you planned to be rid of me. And, if the war had taken my life, all the better for you.” Jaina smirked evilly. “Less work for you that way, less risk.”

“No, that’s not true…” but Ta’a Chume’s words were cut off by another short arc of lighting and her words turned to screams.

“I find you guilty of treason against the rightful Queen Mother of the Hapan Consortium,” Jaina announced, her stare and tone as cold as Hoth. “Your sentence is death, to be carried out immediately.” Lighting again leapt from Jaina’s fingers bathing Ta’a Chume in an azure light.

Ta’a Chume screamed and screamed for long minutes as her muscles locked and she bit through her own tongue in a violent spasm. The lighting ceased and blood ran from the older woman’s mouth as Jaina took a few steps toward her. Her mother-in-law’s breathing was shallow and she was barely alive as Jaina came to stand over her.

“Your plan for me was doomed to fail, just as you are doomed now,” Jaina snarled as she unclipped her lightsaber. Snaphiss, the amethyst blade appeared and in one swift motion, Jaina swung. Ta’a Chume’s fear-filled eyes looked up at Jaina as the blade connect with her neck.

There was a sickening thump as Ta’a Chume’s head fell to the floor and rolled a meter away from the rest of her corpse. Jaina stared down at the body as smoke still wafted up from the neck and smiled sinisterly. She turned on her heel as she closed down her lightsaber and hung in back on her belt. “Clean that up,” she commanded with an absent wave of her hand. Immediately servants began scurrying about to do her bidding as she strode out of the throne room.

As she walked through the corridors, she heard the tormented screams of a man. At least, he was a man before they took from him the defining organ of masculinity, Jaina thought as she recognized Isolder’s screams. She knew he had been castrated several days before for violating her on their wedding night. Though the rest of the torture was for his cooperation with his mother in her schemes to undermine Jaina.

“He will be dealt with tomorrow,” Jaina muttered as she made her way back to her room. The war would soon be over and her regime victorious, Jaina pondered all that had occurred on the road to victory. She knew her parents and brother Jacen had died in a futile mission to find some living and intelligent planet shortly after her decision to leave the Jedi Order and rule the Hapan Cluster. She had lost Jag as well, even Kyp Durron had met a messy end. The list was almost too long to remember fully.

Her Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara had survived and now hid on the Errant Venture with their few remaining Jedi and Jedi Students. They were afraid of her and rightfully so. They had tried to interfere with Jaina and her plans for the war. Jaina knew only one way to punish such interference. Long bouts of torture followed by a painful death.

There were many that now awaited that fate at her hands, though others Jaina did not actively seek. Much to her dismay, there were a few people that she still held a soft-spot for in her black heart; her aunt and uncle, Tenal Ka, Tahiri and a few others. Jaina quietly hoped they never came forward to confront her directly, but if they were foolish enough to do so, she would not hesitate to carry out the only “justice” she inflicted upon her enemies -- despite the fact these “enemies” used to be her closest friends and family.

Arriving at her suite, Jaina stepped through the door and was violently overtaken by vertigo. She stumbled and closed her eyes as she fought against the sensation. Taking a few steps forward, she raised her hand planning to rest it against the wall but found instead the rough bark of a tree. Opening her eyes and looking around, Jaina found herself standing in a dark forest by a small pond. She was no longer in the black gown she had worn moments earlier, instead she was clad in her Jedi robes.

Jaina heard a rustling in the bushes behind her and her hand dropped instinctively to the hilt of the lightsaber that hung from her belt. The figure stepped into view as he said, “Don’t you think you have done enough damage with that, Jaina?”

A young man with soft brown eyes and hair stepped toward her. He wore Jedi robes as well and Jaina instantly recognized him. “Anakin?”

“Hello, Jaina,” Anakin Solo said, his tone hard and unfriendly. “You’ll need to excuse me, I don’t usually associate with Dark Jedi.”

Anger instantly rose up in Jaina. “How dare you? You have no right to speak to me that way,” she hissed. “To pass judgment on me.” She took two long steps forward. “You had it easy!”

Anakin quirked his eyebrow. “Did I now? How exactly do you plot that course?”

“You got to be a hero,” Jaina snapped. “You got to be a martyr. You didn’t have to deal with the mess you left behind!” Quickly glancing about, Jaina recognized where they were. “That’s what this is about, isn’t it?”

Anakin nodded. “Yes, but not entirely.”

“You are the one who broke your promise to her! Not me!” Jaina screamed, the urgency in her tone betraying her lack of conviction in her statement. “What was I to do?”

“You know the answer to that, Jaina,” Anakin said slowly. “You know what serving the Light Side of the Force entails. What it means to be a Jedi. Your actions since my death have been anything but appropriate to those affiliations.”

Jaina shook her head. “Anakin, you don’t know what it’s like,” she said, her voice softening somewhat. “You never had to do what had to be done, you had it easy.” She turned away from him and continued to shake her head vigorously. “You got to stay forever naïve, forever a kid. I didn’t have that luxury.”

“Is that how you defend what you’ve done? The path you embarked upon that day orbiting Mrkyr?” Anakin asked.

Spinning around, Jaina’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Of course it is!” she screamed. “Not that you could possible know why, Anakin!” She shook her head in frustration and disgust. “You just don’t understand,” Jaina muttered.

“You’re wrong,” Anakin answered with a weak smile. “Though I would venture that you’re actually the one who doesn’t understand.” Jaina glared at him as he continued. “What Uncle Luke taught us had nothing to do with circumstance or even the end result. The ends justifying the means is the mantra of another order, not the Jedi.”

As if hearing Anakin’s pronouncement, a figure emerged for the woods. Heavy respirated breath echoed through the still night. Clad in black armor and leather, the figure stood over two meters tall. Wearing a helmet anyone in the Galaxy would have recognized, Darth Vader came to a halt directly facing his grandson.

“Grandfather,” Anakin said with a respectful, yet wary, nod of his head.

“Grandson,” Vader hissed. He turned to Jaina. “Dark one” he said with a bow of his head. Placing his gauntleted hand on his lightsaber hilt, he unclipped it and held it at his side. Turning back to Anakin, he said, “You are interfering with the will of a Dark Lord of the Sith, young one. Your time with her is at an end. Step aside.”

Jaina watched, her expression one of shock and horror as Anakin moved to draw his lightsaber. The blade emerged from the hilt and he held it before him bathing the area in a blue light. An instant later, Vader’s red blade emerged creating shadows that danced all over the glade.

“You know I can not do that,” Anakin Solo answered. “She is my sister, I can not abandon her to the Dark Side.”

“In your pathetic idealism, you can not see, as Jaina has, that the power of the Dark Side has its purpose. Its strength is unparalleled and the Yuuzhan Vong are an enemy of great strength,” Vader explained, still holding his blade before him. “She will learn the ways of the Sith, be empowered by them and lead the Galaxy into a new time of order and strength, I have foreseen it.”

“No,” Anakin said resolutely. “To do that, you will need to destroy me.”

“So be it,” Darth Vader answered without a hint of compassion in his voice. He raised his humming blade over his head and brought it down in a cleaving arc designed to split the younger Solo in two. Bringing his blade up, Anakin only touched his blade to parry and stepped widely to the side, wisely deciding he had no hope of bearing the brunt of the attack.

Vader’s blade streaked past Anakin and bit into the ground. The young Jedi quickly turned his blade and slashed out for Vader’s shoulder. The blade skipped off Vader’s armor leaving a scorch mark but didn’t pierce it. Lashing out with a vicious kick at his knee, Anakin made the armored man stumble back a few steps.

Jaina watched in stunned silence, her emotions swirled though her adding to the confusion that caused her inaction. Her feelings for her brother called to her to intervene, to help him. But his words to her and her anger at them made her hesitate.

In addition, whispered promises of power and glory called to her from the darkest shadows of her soul. The promise of ultimate-victory with the dark teachings of the Sith tempted her like nothing had ever tempted her before.

I’ve already gone this far, Jaina thought remembering her actions aboard the Yuuzhan Vong worldship and her violation of Tahiri. Maybe it’s already too late for me. Maybe I should embrace it. I can still do some good by leading the New Republic into a new era after the final defeat of the Vong.

Jaina saw Anakin turn to lock gazes with her as he battled, an accusing look in his eye. It was as if he knew what she was thinking and what dark promises were being spoken to her from forces beyond. Jaina looked away, unable to continue to meet his gaze suddenly ashamed.

Turning her attention back to the duel, she saw Anakin desperately batting aside attacks from Darth Vader as he was driven back under the powerful onslaught. He tried to take the offensive between parries but the Dark Lord easily rebuffed his weak attacks.

The emotions swirling through Jaina were as erratic and powerful as a Courscant Power Storm. Tears were soon streaming down her cheeks as she watched the duel before her and pondered her choices. Anakin was losing, there was no question of that. But even Jaina could see the Force flowing through him, strengthening him and his resolve.

In stark contrast, the Dark Side swelled around Darth Vader. The energy was oppressive with fear and hatred. Jaina was empowered and repulsed as the feelings washed over her. She stumbled back as Vader turned to stare.

Turning his attention back to Anakin, Vader renewed his assault. Dropping any attempt at finesse, Vader’s attacks battered Anakin’s defenses, the Sith's blade smashing against his grandson's. With a final brutal attack, he knocked aside Anakin’s blade and lashed out with a vicious kick that connected with the young man’s midsection. The air rushed out of Anakin as he fell onto his back.

The blue blade extinguished with a whoosh as Anakin lay on the ground. Vader moved the hilt of his weapon to his left hand and raised his right to point at Anakin. Making a motion like a pinch with his thumb and finger, Darth Vader’s aura surged with power.

Anakin Solo gasped as his throat constricted and he was lifted from the ground. His hands went to his throat instinctively, trying to loosen the invisible hold as Darth Vader took a few steps toward him. “You have lost, young Jedi. You know this, relent and aid your sister by leaving her to me.”

“No!” Anakin choked. “I am a Jedi, like my mother and her father before me. I will never allow the Dark Side to rule me or her.”

Darth Vader turned his attention to Jaina. “Join me, with my teaching and your strength, you can drive the last of these invaders from the Galaxy and take your place as ruler! As the Empress!”

Jaina Solo trembled as she stared at them both. Anakin hung helplessly a meter off the ground and Darth Vader stared at her from behind his mask. Tears continued to stream down her cheeks as the dark and light voices of her soul shouted over each other to be heard and obeyed. Slowly, Jaina reached down and unclipped her lightsaber.

She thumbed the blade to life, the amethyst light clashing with the harsh red of Vader’s. Jaina looked down at her hand and stared at the weapon, unable to decide what to do. Frustration and fear swirled through her until she finally raised the blade over her head and rushed forward in a mindless frenzy toward her brother and grandfather. A blood-curdling scream exploded from her lungs as darkness swirled about and her surroundings seemed to disappear. Furious action and confusing sensations buffeted her through the darkness but she was unable to separate them. But soon the sensations died, her blade disappeared and she looked about her.

Jaina was soaked with sweat, her hair plastered to her head and her robes clinging to her. She knelt on the soft ground and her unlit lightsaber was still in her hand. To her right she could see her brother Anakin, his arm and leg had been severed. His lifeless eyes stared at her, conveying no clue as to what had befallen him.

Looking to her left, she saw Darth Vader’s armor laying in pieces. Stumps of arms and legs emerged from the pieces and his helmet had been split in two, charred flesh visible beneath. Her chest heaved from exertion and she extended her senses over the area, listening for any sounds of life. After several minutes, she had heard nothing.

When Jaina's breathing had slowed somewhat, she looked up to see a pale blue light bathing the small clearing and two figures stepping into the clearing. The first she immediately recognized as her brother Anakin Solo. The second, though seemingly familiar, she could not identify.

He stood over two full meters in height. His face was youthful and if Jaina had to guess she would have said he was no more than twenty-five years old. He had close-cropped brown hair and eyes of bright blue that strongly reminded her of her Uncle Luke. He wore a black outer cloak over an old Jedi Tunic of dark brown and accented with a black leather outer tunic.

Looking down she could see that he wore a lightsaber on his belt that she knew well, for it normally hung from her Master’s, Mara Jade Skywalker’s, belt. “Grandfather?” she asked with a gasp as she looked at him.

He gave an amused, though somewhat sad grin as he looked to her. “Jaina.”

It took the young Jedi a moment to realize the pale blue light was emanating from them. It surrounded them like a visible aura and their forms were shimmering and translucent. They were Force Spirits! Her brother now appeared to her as Jaina had appeared to Tahiri. The irony was not lost on the Dark Jedi.

Jaina began to speak again as her brother Anakin cut her off. Looking about, he said, “And this is what you have wrought.”

“Even at his worst, Emperor Palpatine wouldn’t have done something like this,” Anakin Skywalker added. “At least he would have been able to control his anger enough to see the futility of frivolous murder. You have sunken even lower than he.”

Jaina felt her throat tighten as she clinched her fists and tears threatened to run down her cheeks. “No,” she croaked, but her voice faltered.

“I’m afraid so,” Anakin Solo answered. “This is what you are now and what you will continue to be if you remain on the path you stepped upon the night you…” The young man’s voice trailed off and a pained expression crossed his face. He didn’t need to say it for Jaina to know that he was referring to her night with Tahiri.

The younger version of her grandfather’s expression turned cold as ice as he observed her. He took a few slow and measured steps over to his dark incarnation's slain body. Jaina followed his gaze to the helmet that now lay atop the armor’s breastplate. The helmet was again in one piece again and its menacing face was turned toward Jaina. Anakin Solo turned his attention to it as well and they wordlessly observed it for a few tense moments.

Anakin Skywalker turned to glare at Jaina. “Seeing that you have chosen this path with your reprehensible actions,” her grandfather snarled, “It seems only fitting that you are properly equipped.” He reached toward the helmet with an open hand and gestured in Jaina’s direction.

As she was still kneeling, the helmet whipped through the air to slam solidly into her chest. The air rushed from her lungs as she doubled over and the hilt of her lightsaber slipped from her hand. The tears she had been fighting back would not be held in check any longer and began to run down her cheeks. Jaina looked up at grandfather’s and brother’s specters as the both glared back at her.

“Don your helmet, Lady Vader,” her brother practically spat the words.

“At least that way, the Galaxy has some hope of structure and Order. It is a sad day for the Jedi when having you accept the ways of the Sith is preferable to the course you are on now,” Anakin Skywalker added as both of the spirits shimmered and dissolved before Jaina’s eyes.

 

* * * *

 

Jaina Solo awoke with a scream, her nightgown and the bed sheets soaked with sweat. She whipped her head about trying desperately to figure out where she was. After a moment she realized that she had awoken in her bed within the quarters she had been given in the Hapan Palace. Fear ran through her as the remnants of her dream and the scathing words of her brother and the grandfather she had never met continued to run through her head.

She heard a knock at the door and a moment later, a pair of servants rushed in to see if Jaina was all right. Jaina quickly assured the servants she was fine and rudely sent them away. Once they had left, Jaina stood, donned her robe and began pacing the room.

“That can’t be,” Jaina muttered thinking of the accusations her brother had made in her dream. “I was comforting Tahiri, not hurting her.” But the words rang false in her ears. With a disgusted sigh, she walked over to the window and cast the curtains aside.

As the moonlight cascaded in, Jaina’s shadow appeared on the far wall. She glanced over her shoulder at it and her heart instantly froze. The shadow had a long cape the billowed out behind it and the head was rounded on top and had two sharp points at the chin. The shadow was not of Jaina Solo, but of Darth Vader.

Jaina shrieked as she covered her eyes with her hands and shook her head vigorously. When she looked up again, all she saw was the shadow that had followed her her entire life.

The shifting images haunted her. “…for once you start upon the dark path, forever will it dominate her destiny.” She had heard her Uncle Luke recite the teachings of his Master, Yoda many times. However, the words had never hit her as hard as they had this night.

Jaina rested her back firmly against the wall and began to weep. She pondered if she had, in fact, began upon a path from which there was no return. If her path would lead her to more and more atrocities. Jaina wondered if she could possibly atone for what she had done and find her way back to the light. “Or will the Dark Side forever dominate my destiny?” she sobbed as she contemplated her dark journey.


End file.
